1. Field of the Inventive Concept
The present inventive concept relates to semiconductor devices and in particular, to semiconductor memory devices. More particularly, the inventive concept a semiconductor device having a transistor whose gate electrode is disposed within an active region, such as a recessed or buried channel array transistor (BCAT).
2. Description of the Related Art
As dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices have been scaled down and integrated to a very high degree, the influence of leakage current on adjacent word lines has increased. Also, when a high voltage is applied to a word line of a DRAM device, if electric charge leaks from the word line, the sensing of a memory cell constituted by the word line may be unreliable.
In addition, a buried channel array transistor (BCAT) has been developed for use in DRAMs to obviate known short channel effects that are more likely to occur as the DRAMs become more highly integrated. A BCAT includes a gate electrode disposed in a trench in a substrate so that the gate electrode is “buried” in the substrate.